I would think that the people who were "realists" from the start (and won't have that overinflated bubble of optimism to bust in the first place) are military brats, especially if they've joined the same service that their parent is (or was) in.

You are probably on to something there ... The big exception being some whose parent had either a Cush job or was fairly senior by the time the kid started seeing / observing the military ... The perspective is likely skewed.

I think those who have it the hardest are those who come from and established civilian career ... The acclimation seems to be really hard (exception being most of the the medical folks).

The most important six inches on the battlefield ... is between your ears.

I would think that the people who were "realists" from the start (and won't have that overinflated bubble of optimism to bust in the first place) are military brats, especially if they've joined the same service that their parent is (or was) in.

You are probably on to something there ... The big exception being some whose parent had either a Cush job or was fairly senior by the time the kid started seeing / observing the military ... The perspective is likely skewed.

I think those who have it the hardest are those who come from and established civilian career ... The acclimation seems to be really hard (exception being most of the the medical folks).

The most important six inches on the battlefield ... is between your ears.

I would think that the people who were "realists" from the start (and won't have that overinflated bubble of optimism to bust in the first place) are military brats, especially if they've joined the same service that their parent is (or was) in.

I didn't know anything about the military...not even a little bit. I just knew there was nothing in my hometown and didn't want college.

Realizing I came from a different era (enlist or be drafted)the only thing I knew about the AF was that basic would be hard (but it really wasn't). I think I did very well during my four years but realized it just wasn't something I wanted to make a career. It appears that most posters on here didn't really have any expectations when they enlisted. I'm of the opinion that most of the slap in the face moments were more "the straw that broke the camel's back".

Did you have an idea or an impression of the military before you joined? My father was in the Army, but was out before he even met my mother.

I lived in New London as a child, up until the age of 9 - right across the bridge from Groton, but people stationed there tend to stay on that side of the Thames, so I wasn't really exposed to that.

When I moved to Norfolk at the age of 9 (1989) - and later, to Dover at the age of 13 (1993) - that's where I WAS exposed to the military.

So my time in Connecticut - lived in the projects, the only grown men I was exposed to were shiftless freeloading live-in boyfriends throughout the complex, who all had their own personal problems.

When I moved to Norfolk, that all changed. I saw very clean looking military guys in their brand new Chevy Berettas (that seemed to be the most popular car among single guys in the military at the time) and other vehicles and motorcycles, frequenting the local bars and pulling the hottest chicks. Furthermore, at the stores, I got to watch them purchase things that I knew we could never afford.

THAT'S when I decided that I wanted to be in the military when I grew up.

So maybe that's where my bright-eyed optimism came from. Though, to be honest, in most military cities the locals tend to be poor anyway; and many locals raised in those cities join for the same reasons I did. So that could explain a lot.

"Well... Uber's going to "driverless" cars soon, and their research probably shows that they're a natural fit (when it comes to getting paid for doing nothing)."
-Rainmaker, referencing black males